Magnificient Moab...... Utah

If you are an outdoor enthusiest.... hiking, biking, kayaking, 4-wheeling... than Moab is a must for your bucket list. Throw in beautiful scenery and you are in heaven. But first let me tell you about our not so heavenly trip to get here.
I left you when we were sitting in Show Low Arizona waiting for better weather for traveling north. Sorry Nick but we weren't impressed with your town. The highlight of my stay was a visit to my hummer feeder by a pair of Bullock Oreoles. Here is the male peeking in the window.

 

We left on the 13th of May and traveled to Chinle Az to the Canyon de Chelly (pronounced d shay). Archeological evidence shows that people have lived in these canyons for nearly 5,000 years - uninterupted. That's amasing. It is part of the Navajo reservation so access is limited to some parts of the canyon. Here are some pics. Note the pueblo ruins on the rock ledge.

 

 

 

Here is a pic of the Jeep... dead in the visitor center parking lot.

 

On our secong day we went to the center to check out the gift shop and when we came out it wouldn't start. Upon inquiry we found out that the closest AAA service was 3 HOURS AWAY. Thank goodness the campgrounds were 200 yards away so we left the Jeep in the lot and walked to the MH. John decided to take the motorcycle into town (5 miles away) to see if he could find a local mechanic to help us. At about mile 3.5 the motorcycle stopped and wouldn't restart. John pushed it to the closest gas station. No mechanic. He found someone with a flatbed willing to bring the motorcycle to the campground at the end of the day. Cost $85.00. He then hitched a ride with an Indian family in the back of their pick up truck back to the campground. We then packed up the MH and went up to the visitor center and hooked the jeep up and towed it back. We had to stop in front of our campsite, unhook the Jeep, push it out of the way, back into our site, push the jeep back in front of the MH on our site. In the morning (we had plans to leave that morning), we pushed the jeep out of the way, drove the motorhome into the road, pushed the jeep behind the MH, hooked it up then loaded the dead motorcycle onto the dead jeep. We were off with 3 vehicles but only 1 that worked.

On our way into the town of Moab we found a mechanic who "knew" jeeps so we dropped it off with him. The town and campgrounds were busy because of an ATV weekend. We ended up at a BLM campground 20 miles outside of town. We spent 3 days with no way to go anywhere. Good news.. the 3rd day..  it was a $12.50 relay switch with total labor cost of $37.00 to get our jeep back. John found a collage kid at the campground willing to take him into town to pick it up so we didn't have to pack up the MH once again. John bought a new battery for the motorcycle but it still doesn't work.

Here is a pic of John flying a kite while waiting for the car. Who but John would do it sitting down?

The funny part was that it ended up 25 feet up in a tree.... no way to retrieve it. The camp host was not happy.

Since we were there for another week, after getting working wheels, we had time to see Canyonland National Park

 

Arches National Park...

 

The town has an Arts Festival every Memorial Day weekend... so we went. What a good time.... music, crafts, art, food... what more could you ask for.

 

This group is called Sister Wives and they were really good.... BLUES. They were excellant both vocally and instramentally.
We left Moab..... vary reluctantly.... on Tuesday the 28th and headed north. Next stop Idaho...along the Snake River and the Oregon Trail. Type at you soon.... I promise.